The present invention relates to small boats and in particular to a small multi-function boat suitable for recreational use and water rescue.
Known small boats are constructed with a sitting compartment which may fill with water. Such known small boats also often lack stability in rough water, and in the event of rough swells, may fill and sink, or in very cold water, may fill subjecting passengers to hypothermia. Further, beach rescue often requires passing through waves and may prove to be problematic due to difficulty in handling the small boats and may result in injury. Known small boats are also heavy and not easily carried or deployed (e.g., thrown from the deck of a larger ship into the water) by a single person.
Other rescue devices are known, such as flat rescue boards. Unfortunately, such rescue boards have limited utility because they have very little freeboard and a victim carried by the board may be subject to both exposure to cold water, and to attack by marine life. Further, such rescue boards do not provide a stable platform for first aid, such as CPR and/or resuscitation. Therefore, known boats are limited when used in rescue operations.